Luxembourg's Government confirmed (16-Sep-2013) it is in negotiations with China's Henan Civil Aviation Development and Investment (HNCA) for the sale of a stake in Cargolux. The Government intends to select a partner for the airline by the end of 2013. Representatives of Luxembourg's Ministry of Sustainable Development and Infrastructure and China's Henan Province Government also discussed a joint growth strategy for Luxembourg Airport and Zhengzhou Airport, potentially including Cargolux. [more - original PR - French]

The USD10 billion deal will create the world’s third largest lessor - and they may be more to come yet.

Avolon itself was only recently acquired by HNA Group, with the USD2.7 billion purchase agreement being finalised in Jan-2016, via Bohai Capital Holdings.

Avolon is now the core aircraft leasing brand for the HNA Group. Including assets from Hong Kong Aviation Capital, Bohai Capital and several smaller HNA Group leasing firms, Avolon has a fleet of nearly 250 aircraft and almost 200 more on order.

China is investing huge sums on its own airports – up to USD130 billion over the next 15 years - but Chinese inward investment to other countries for the same purpose elsewhere is not insignificant. While Africa, in particular, has been on the Chinese radar for years, Europe, where some of the first Chinese airport investments were, is once again in favour.

There is a wide range of investments in airport assets at all points on the scale, from global hubs to remote secondary level airports: a range of investment by organisations such as sovereign wealth funds – via giant retail companies and Big Data conglomerates – right down to smaller engineering companies and industrial concerns. And they are taking over large parts of the supply chain too, with catering suppliers like Gategroup and Servair either acquired or targeted, as well as ground handling companies such as Swissport.

A new 50-page CAPA report, "Chinese investors in Europe’s Airports 2016", addresses these issues and reviews the recent investment history.